Insomniacs Group

happy halloween! tips for sleepwalkers (and sleepwalking-zombies of course!)

posted by bells on 7:42 am

Happy Halloween! I thought today I would post some info on sleepwalking. Why? Because I sleepwalk (yes, I STILL sleepwalk even though I'm not 5 years old.) Below are some tips from emedicine.com. I learned long ago to lock and chain my door to avoid sleepwalking down the street, but there are a few below that were new to me. Feel free to contribute your own tips if you have any =)    
 
Here's what emedicine.com says about sleepwalking:
 
General treatment guidelines for Somnambulism:
 
Reassurance is the mainstay of treatment. The benign nature of the events and subsequent disappearance in most cases should be emphasized. If environmental or predisposing factors are discovered, an attempt should be made to eliminate them.  
 
Assure adequate sleep, regulation of sleep cycle, and treatment of underlying medical conditions (eg, gastroesophageal reflux, obstructive sleep apnea, periodic leg movements, seizures).  
 
Avoid auditory, tactile, or visual stimuli early in the sleep cycle. These have been shown to induce events in some patients with parasomnias.  
 
Instruct parents to lock windows and doors, remove obstacles and sharp objects from the room, and add alarms (if necessary) to decrease the likelihood of injury during an episode.  
 
Depending on the situation, comforting the child and gently redirecting him or her to bed may be appropriate. Attempts to confront or wake up patients during the events frequently lengthens the parasomnia episode and may induce resistance or violence from the patient.  
 
Pharmacological measures may be necessary in the following situations:  
 
The possibility of injury is real.  
 
Continued behaviors are causing significant family disruption or excessive daytime sleepiness.  
 
Unusual symptoms are present.  
 
Nonpharmacological interventions have proven to be inadequate.  
 
Benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, and serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been shown to be useful. Clonazepam in low doses before bedtime and continued for 3-6 weeks is usually effective.   Medication often can be discontinued after 3-5 weeks without recurrence of symptoms. Occasionally, frequency of episodes increases briefly after discontinuing the medication because of rebound sleep.    
 
Nonpharmacological measures:  
 
Relaxation techniques, mental imagery, and anticipatory awakenings are preferred for long-term management. The first 2 techniques should be undertaken only with the help of an experienced behavioral therapist or hypnotist.  
 
Anticipatory awakenings consist of waking the child approximately 15-20 minutes before the usual time of an event and then keeping him awake through the time during which the episodes usually occur.  
 
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1188854-treatment